Weblogs and the Public Sphere

Marjorie Thompson

In "Weblogs and the Public Sphere" by Andrew O'Baoill, blogging is examined in reference to its use and

 influence in the public sphere. In this article, the tools and techniques put into practice are blogging and other

 forms of social media. The key issues outlined in the text are the cultural and operational aspects of blogging.

My opinions about these readings are multifaceted.  I thought it was interesting to read  the essays and

 videos of social media researchers discussing the results of their studies. These presentations gave

 assessments of how the internet is used in real world.  

The public sphere of the internet was seen originally by Futurists and creators of the internet as a cyberspace

 where democratic dialogue could take place and people would be able to increase their voice in the

 democratic process.

In "Weblogs and The Public Sphere", it is pointed out that the people who write blogs are not specifically

 interested in creating a sense of the public sphere from them. Public sphere is defined as "inclusivity of

 access, a disregard for external rank, and the potential for rational debate of any topic until consensus is

 achieved are necessary criterion for meeting Habermas's model of an idealized public sphere. "(O'Baoill,

 2004)

Many people who blog are amatures writing about whatever is on their mind so many times their writings are 

not directed around a specific topic. Most people write whatever they are thinking about without a

 specifically political point of view or intention.  The blogs they write are their random thoughts. People have

 many conflicting opinions and there is no consensus between them with which to create a public sphere.

 Even though anyone can start a blog which would fit into the criterian of universal access and disregard for

 external rank, readership many times is dependent on the people who access the blog so this limits the

 dialogue/debate.

The webinaire about Brazilian youth discusses several aspects of social media in Brazil. At the time of this

 webinaire, Brazil had had social media for less than a year. Raquel Recuero, a social media researcher,

 discusses her research along with several other people. She states that social media has created

 opportunities for greater communication about aspects of culture such as young people learning dance steps

 which are popular but she has also found a dark side to social media. In Brazil she states that she has found

 much violence associated with the use of social media. Many people express violent prejudice towards

 various groups such as women and use social media to harass and cyberbully. Students form groups to 

harass other students and teachers. In addition to this and contrasting to it is the tendency to not comment on

 social media. She states that she has found that people have a tendency to not comment  to avoid conflict.

 This is actually completely the opposite from the democratization theories about the internet.

After reading these essays and viewing the videos, I felt that it is really necessary to consider all aspects of

 social media if one is going to assess its function in society. The internet is a powerful tool but like anything

 else it can be positive as well as negative. One can do constructive things, waste time in a meaningless way

 or be very destructive. Being aware of this potential can help direct intent when creating educational 

programs.

References

"Weblogs and the Public Sphere", Andrew O'Baoill, "Into the Blogosphere", 2004

Raquel Recuero, "How are Brazilian youth becoming digital, and what potential does digital media provide for democracy and social movements?" Connected Learning, webinaire with Jeff Brazil, Adriana Amaral, Greg Tuke, Henrique Antoun, João Miguel Lima, July 25, 2012

Saskia Sassen, "Networks, Power and Democracy" video, Saskia Sassen spoke at the Netpublics research group on Networks, Power & Democracy on March 23, 2006. uploaded to You tube July 26, 2012